Rhino/chocolate plecos

degrassi · Post by **degrassi** » 06 Mar 2003, 16:58

I'm sorry for al the posts but I'm really getting interested in keep plecos. There doesn't seem to be info that too reliable so i thought i would ask the experts. Is there any fish atlases that jsut deal with plecos?(i have the aqualog L numbers, but find tha teven it has different answers then whats on the web)

well i saw some of these at my LFS and was trying to look up ome info on these guys but there seems to be a bunch of different answers. Some say they get 13" some say 8". SOme say they can be kept with cichlids(won't get picked on too much?) and some say they can't.

Which is true? Does anyone actually have one and can give me some experiences. I'm interested more in the size and temperment since i'm looking for a pleco for my cichlid tank.

PS: i know pleco need more acidic water but all the plecos at my LFS are kept in regular tap water,ph 7.8(same as what i keep my tanks at).So i'm more concered about if they can deal with african peacock cichlids

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 06 Mar 2003, 18:07

Hi!

Imho you have to face more than 30 cm with these.

The thing with fishshops keeping fish under unnatural conditions is that the fish there just make a stop before being sold relatively quick. In your tank youll have the fish for lets say 10 years or more if the conditions are allright...if not you need to buy new fish more often...

degrassi · Post by **degrassi** » 06 Mar 2003, 18:52

well i know you should keep fish in the same kind of water that they come from but I have angels,rams and apistos that breed in my water(ph7.8 kh6). Aren't some plecos supposed to be hardier then then fagile fish like rams?

Bristlenose plecos come from lower ph but are routinely used in african setups for algae.What is the difference if i want to use some other pleco?

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 06 Mar 2003, 19:20

well bristlenoses are a massbred "product" opposite to the wildcaught G.scrophus.

Youve bred Rams in this water? im not a cichlid guy but this sounds amazing.

degrassi · Post by **degrassi** » 07 Mar 2003, 01:57

Yeah i have had my angels and rams breed. I got my pair of rams from a local breeder and he says he doesn't change his water either(regular tap water). If it is because BN are tank bred they work better in a wide range of conditions then what are some otehr plecos(besides commons) that are tank raised? I also keep a clown pleco and rubernose in my water and they are doing great.

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 07 Mar 2003, 04:31

interesting did you have any surviving offspring? in all german forums ive read noone has been able to bring them through under not so perfect water conditions gh and ph wise.

degrassi · Post by **degrassi** » 07 Mar 2003, 04:54

I personally haven't been able to save any fry but then again i wasn't really trying,I jsut left then in teh tank and being a community tank they got eaten.

But the breeder i got them from supposedly breeds them in our tap water. I got mine through a friend of the breeder and that is what she said. She also got a pair at the same time and says hers are spawnign all the time(don't know if she tries to keep the fry)

but back to the plecos, is there any that are able to defend themselves against cichlids?ANd won't get too big

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 07 Mar 2003, 06:26

l77/137 imho ~20 cm and very robust dont know about other cochliodon/hypostomus

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 07 Mar 2003, 15:57

I keep my rusty pleco with a four inch pike cichlid and a few small geophagus and he still rules the tank. They are plenty tough enough. Hes been in a few settups now and hes done great in all of them. I would deffinately go for a rusty. Also i have a gibbi that is also as resiliant and tough. Hes also been in many different settups and thrived in them all. The gibbi is a little more active than the rusty i dont know if its just because hes younger and smaller or their just more active fish. If your looking for a good looking fish than i would deffinately choose the gibbi over the rusty. But then again if i remember right they get atleast fourteen or fifteen inches. So the rusty might be the best option if tank space is a problem.

degrassi · Post by **degrassi** » 07 Mar 2003, 16:41

thanks, Any others? I really like the rusty pleco.i hope i can find one around here.i don't think i have ever seen one.

why doesn't it let you type cichlid?

FiSHYBiZNESS · Post by **FiSHYBiZNESS** » 03 Feb 2004, 05:58

Sup all,

Funny you mention this i have a rhino pleco in with a pair of oscars. the rhino (whom is lovingly know as horny

keeps the oscrs in line, oscars tend to be very curious and "investigate" the rhino and he chases them of rapidly, occasionally taking a couple scales off my tiger oscar in one instance. so i would say rhino are cool w/ cichlids just make sure they are slighty larger and well fed with a cave to retreat to. depending on the cichlid will depend on how they interact.